By Tashreeq Vardien.
Mamelodi Sundowns staged a thrilling late comeback to snatch a 2-1 victory over Maniema Union in Kinshasa at Stade des Martyrs on Saturday, reigniting their CAF Champions League campaign.
The hero of the day? Peter Shalulile, who came off the bench to orchestrate a dramatic turnaround.
After last week’s disappointment against Raja Casablanca, Sundowns entered the match with their Group B rivals sniffing vulnerability.
Maniema capitalised on the pressure, with Jephta Kitambala Bola firing the hosts ahead and dreaming of an upset that could vault them into second place.
But Sundowns weren’t ready to let their continental aspirations slip. Shalulile’s header restored parity, and moments later, his tireless charge turned chaos into triumph as Exaucia Moanda Kia Moanda deflected the ball into his own net, gifting the Brazilians a vital win.
The victory pushes Sundowns level on eight points with AS FAR, who face Raja later in a high-stakes clash. Should AS FAR win, Sundowns will book their place in the quarterfinals with a game to spare.
For Maniema Union, the loss marks the end of their Champions League journey, while Sundowns keep their African dream alive.
Sundowns didn’t take long to get an attacking threat going that nearly resulted in the opening goal.
Arthur Sales pounced on a deep-lying cross, beating the Maniema offside trap and had to just bypass the goalkeeper Brudel Liyongo, but his hesitation showed, and he scuffed his strike marginally wide.
Lucas Ribeiro and Marcelo Allende were next with chances to break the deadlock. First, Ribeiro was unmarked in the penalty area as a deflected cross landed in his space and the Brazilian hit a strike that saw the ball go over the crossbar. Allende then found himself on the flank with room to shoot after a failed clearance, but the Uruguayan rattled the side netting instead.
The chances missed to not only take the lead but perhaps to have scored a second and third will be rued as the home side responded emphatically to Sundowns’ waves of attacks.
Exaucia Moanda Kia Moanda put the ball into space for Jephta Kitambala Bola to attack, and he did so with aplomb. He used the strength of his upper body to keep Teboho Mokoena at bay before he sliced a precise left-footed strike past Ronwen Williams by his near post to give Maniema the lead before halftime.
For the second half, Cardoso responded by taking off Sales and putting on Tashreeq Matthews, as much-needed pace and attacking flair was surely missing from the left flank.
But the ever-dangerous Mokoena orchestrated Sundowns’ first real threat after the break. His eye for the perfect pass was accurate, as he found a running Thapelo Morena. The winger’s haste got the better of him, and his quick strike was well dealt with by Liyongo.
The remainder of the half saw Maniema make no real effort at looking for a second goal, while Sundowns were ambering and looking for the greenlight on the perfect opportunity to attack.
In the 79th minute, Peter Shalulile came off the bench for Morena to remind coach Cardoso just how prolific he is in front of goal.
Four minutes after the Namibian’s introduction, the 31-year-old ensured Mokoena’s inch-perfect cross following a shorter corner from Ribeiro, was equally met with a clinical header as he rose tallest to equalise as he celebrated with the finger on his lips.
The danger, however, was not all clear for the visitors. Ronwen Williams’s gloves had to pull off the save of the match in stoppage time. Lucian Donet Joel, who came off the bench as well, bypassed Terence Mashego and had ample space to get a winner, but the Sundowns goalkeeper made his body as big as possible and kept things level.
Then luck struck at the perfect moment to steal all three points, and Shalulile worked his magic again.
This time, another deep-lying cross, and the striker, with a leaping right boot, brought the ball down and beat the goalkeeper Liyonga. However, on his left, breathing down his neck, was Moanda, and his attempt to clear the ball went into the back of the net to send the Sundowns bench into euphoria.
It was a match in which Sundowns were far from perfect, but astute substitutions worked in Cardoso’s and his team’s favour on the day when the Brazilians needed it most.
The highly ambitious Tshwane club’s dream of adding a second star is still on track, and it yearns for it to become a reality.